Zappacosta: ‘Atalanta Europa League more beautiful than Chelsea’

Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman celebrates with Atalanta defender Davide Zappacosta after scoring during the UEFA Europa league second leg semi-final between Atalanta and Marseille at Bergamo's stadium on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

Davide Zappacosta admits winning the Europa League with Atalanta has ‘a different flavour and is much more beautiful’ compared to the same trophy with Chelsea in 2019.

They host Torino at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s six Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.

La Dea dominated the previously invincible Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin on Wednesday to lift their first ever UEFA piece of silverware, sealed by an Ademola Lookman hat-trick.

While it was the first trophy for many of the players, and their coach Gian Piero Gasperini, Zappacosta had already won the Europa League at Chelsea in the 2018-19 campaign.

“This Europa League has a different flavour to winning with Chelsea and was much more difficult with Atalanta, so therefore much more beautiful too,” he told Sky Sport Italia.

“This is a day of celebration with our fans, but we still want to end the season in the best way and prepared for the match the way we always do.

“Maybe we won’t really grasp what we’ve done until we get the full celebration with the crowds in Bergamo. We got a taster of it when returning from the airport, but we’ll have that opportunity next week.”

Zappacosta season not over yet

The Serie A season officially concludes this evening, but not for two clubs.

Atalanta and Fiorentina will face off on June 2 in Bergamo in a rescheduled fixture that had to be called off on March 17 when Viola director Joe Barone collapsed in the team hotel.

He was rushed to hospital in nearby Milan, where he died two days later.